This invention relates generally to sweetness modification and more particularly to low-caloric compounds, particularly well suited as sweetness modifiers in edible foodstuffs.
Sweetness is one of the primary taste cravings of both animals and humans. Thus, the utilization of sweetening agents in foods in order to satisfy this sensory desire is well established.
Naturally occurring carbohydrate sweeteners, such as sucrose, are still the most widely used sweetening agents. While these naturally occurring carbohydrates, i.e. sugars, generally fulfill the requirements of sweet taste, the abundant usage thereof does not occur without deleterious consequences, e.g. high caloric input, dental decay and nutritional imbalance. In fact, often times the level of these sweeteners required to satisfy taste in foodstuffs is far higher than that level of sweetener which is desired for economic, dietetic or other functional considerations.
In an attempt to eliminate the disadvantages concomitant with natural sweeteners, considerable research and expense have been devoted to the production of artificial sweeteners, such as for example, saccharin, cyclamate, dihydrochalcone, aspartame, etc. While some of these artificial sweeteners satisfy the requirements of sweet taste without caloric input and have met with considerable commercial success, they are not, however, without their own inherent disadvantages. For example, many of these artificial sweeteners have the disadvantages of high cost of production, as well as delay in perception of the sweet taste, persistent lingering of the sweet taste, and very objectionable bitter, metallic after-taste when used in food products.
Since it is believed that many of the disadvantages of artificial sweeteners, particularly after-taste is a function of the concentration of the sweetener, it has been previously suggested, that these effects could be reduced or eliminated by combining artificial sweeteners, such as saccharin, with other ingredients or natural sugars, such as pectin, sorbitol, dextrose, maltone, etc. These combined products, however, have not been entirely satisfactory either. Some U.S. patents which disclose sweetener mixtures include, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,228,198, U.S. Pat. No. 4,158,068, U.S. Pat. No. 4,154,862, U.S. Pat. No. 3,717,477.
More particularly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,228,198 discloses a sweetening composition comprised of a protein sweetener, saccharin or cyclamate in combination with a sweetness modifier, namely arabinogalactan. The patentee states that the arabinogalactan enhances the overall sweetness of the composition and reduces or eliminates the after taste.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,158,068 discloses a sweetener mixture having an improved saccharose-like taste consisting of acetosulfame and at least one sweetener from the group of aspartyl peptide esters, the sulfamate sweeteners, the sulfimide sweeteners and dihydrochalcone sweeteners.
Mixtures of artificial sweeteners, such as saccharin and the like, and neodiosmin are disclosed, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,154,862, to be of reduced bitterness and after taste.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,717,477 discloses that the sweetening potency and taste of sodium saccharin are improved by the addition of small amounts of optically active D-tryptophan.
The use of sweetening agents in foods to provide functions other than sweetening, such as to act as fillers, bulking agents, antimicrobial agents, freezing point depressants, stabilizers, etc. is also well established. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,597,236 discloses a composition, useful for preserving the color of meat, comprising ascorbic acid and a compound selected from the group consisting of para-aminobenzoic acid, m-aminobenzoic acid, isonicotinic acid and N-ethylnicotinamide, wherein dextrose is optionally employed as a carrier to provide a more uniform distribution of the preserving composition in and on the meat. Moreover, while J. Prakt Chemie, Vol. 36, pp. 93-107(1847) and Moncrieff, The Chemical Senses, pp. 252-253(1944) disclose m-aminobenzoic acid to be sweet, the literature does not disclose or remotely suggest that this compound would be an excellent foodstuff sweetener, particularly when employed in combination with sweetening amounts of known natural and/or artificial sweeteners.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,752,332 and U.S. Pat. No. 2,709,657 disclose 2-amino-3-hydroxy-benzoic acid or its esters as antioxidants and/or stabilizing agents for certain vegetables. Other U.S. patents including U.S. Pat. No. 3,876,814, U.S. Pat. No. 3,952,058, U.S. Pat. No. 3,845,225 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,876,816 disclose certain aromatic amino compounds as sweeteners. That is, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,876,814 and 3,952,058 disclose 3-amino-4-n-propylbenzyl alcohol as a non-nutritive sweetener for foods and beverages. U.S. Pat. No. 3,845,225 discloses compounds of the formula ##STR1## as sweetening agents for foodstuffs, while U.S. Pat. No. 3,876,816 discloses inter alia, 2-amino-4-nitrobenzoic acid as a sweetener.
Furthermore, many times the amount of sweetening agent employed for these alternate functions provides an excessively sweet taste, thereby requiring a modification of the formulation to reduce the sweetener level with a concurrent reduction in providing the alternate function to the food product. One unsuccessful solution of the art was to add bitter or acidic ingredients to the food to reduce the sweetness perception; however, the resultant food then had an undesirable bitter or acidic taste.
Accordingly, in view of the aforementioned disadvantages associated with the use of known sweeteners, i.e., naturally occurring, artificial or combinations thereof, it becomes readily apparent that it would be highly desirable to (a) provide a sweetness modifying agent which when added to foodstuffs can greatly reduce the level of deleterious sweetener normally required and concomitantly eliminate or greatly diminish the numerous disadvantages associated with prior art sweeteners or (b) provide sweetness inhibiting agents which are non-caloric, which do not result in off-tastes and which when added to foodstuffs reduce the level of sweetness perceived without a concurrent reduction in the desirable properties of the foodstuff.